https://www.ericsonportfolio.com Ericson_Portfolio Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:51:56 +0000 https://www.ericsonportfolio.com en https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Home Thu, 21 Oct 2021 19:46:08 +0000 Ericson_Portfolio https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Home mark ericson about U https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/About Thu, 21 Oct 2021 19:46:08 +0000 Ericson_Portfolio https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/About about I am an artist and educator whose work focuses the translation of historic modes of drawing into digital animations and images. This site contains a selection of work that encapsulates my research in the history of technical drawing and geometry. When we consider drawing and imaging in a digital context, it is often positioned as an extension of earlier pre-digital forms of description. Boundary representations, point clouds, meshes, and extended reality have all changed the means by which we image landscapes, objects, buildings and infrastructure. In these cases, questions surrounding digital representation have to do with the way in which new media can extend or otherwise further existing techniques through the powers of digital computation. My work considers another question: What can the technological limits of historical forms of representation offer to development of drawing with new media? This question is considered in each of the works contained in the Drawing Index of the site. I hold a Master's of Architecture from SCI_Arc and I am a public school educator in rural Vermont.&nbsp; &nbsp; ericson.mark.c@gmail.com &nbsp; &nbsp; ︎&nbsp;︎ drawing index teaching portfolio publications homeabout https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-Index Thu, 21 Oct 2021 19:46:09 +0000 Ericson_Portfolio https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-Index drawing index2017-2026 Round Things Animating Guarini Drawing with Cones in Two Dimensions Drawing with Cones in Two and Three Dimensions Drawing with Parallel and Opposing Lines Drawing with Spheres in Two Dimensions Drawing with Spheres in Three Dimensions 2012 - 2017 Primitive DrawingsNameless Curves Euclid’s Wedge Reassembling Guarini Domestic Inversion &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; drawing index teaching portfolio publications homeabout https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Animating-Guarini Thu, 21 Oct 2021 19:46:15 +0000 Ericson_Portfolio https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Animating-Guarini <img width="1280" height="800" width_o="1280" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bcca714806778217d0ef56b230bf05c22e76c52782100d31802f239d01fdba62/Cone_Cylinder_Set_up_006_web.jpg" data-mid="123236370" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bcca714806778217d0ef56b230bf05c22e76c52782100d31802f239d01fdba62/Cone_Cylinder_Set_up_006_web.jpg" /> <img width="1280" height="800" width_o="1280" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/64f03e2dc50a0094640dad10b971a0785df72526201e50cf0e901b7706589ce7/47_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_web.jpg" data-mid="123236280" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/64f03e2dc50a0094640dad10b971a0785df72526201e50cf0e901b7706589ce7/47_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_web.jpg" /> <img width="3000" height="3000" width_o="3000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/62aeccc2885ce4df40f1c4ba2b6940863e1319021b51ed1ed37f84161f75037d/01_Cylindrical_Cone_Radial_Unroll_Color_005.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2tot.jpg" data-mid="122281785" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/62aeccc2885ce4df40f1c4ba2b6940863e1319021b51ed1ed37f84161f75037d/01_Cylindrical_Cone_Radial_Unroll_Color_005.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2tot.jpg" /> <img width="3000" height="3000" width_o="3000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d50cd168b68d82a8fd9e11b8b78fa60d75730fbcefd4021695028637bc00c71b/40_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_021.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2_ort.jpg" data-mid="122282471" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d50cd168b68d82a8fd9e11b8b78fa60d75730fbcefd4021695028637bc00c71b/40_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_021.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2_ort.jpg" /> <img width="3000" height="3000" width_o="3000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/44168fe52b9e1dca41008b6fb8a94ea95c2fe09c9b45db0a8d33527d78ec8c5d/42_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_026.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2.jpg" data-mid="122273270" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/44168fe52b9e1dca41008b6fb8a94ea95c2fe09c9b45db0a8d33527d78ec8c5d/42_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_026.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2.jpg" /> Animating Guarini The animations&nbsp; and images contained here are translations and extensions of the drawing instructions provided by the Italian architect and mathematician, Guarino Guarini, in his posthumous treatise Architettura Civile(1735).&nbsp; The instructions have been translated into the programming language of Python to generate animations in the open source software Processing. The animations use a single color expressed in values of red, green, and blue, which are scaled across different lines within the drawing until they approach the value corresponding to white.&nbsp; Line weight corresponds to the conventions of descriptive geometry, in which object lines are thicker and construction lines are thinner. All lines are solid. All animation titles begin with, “The Two-Dimensional Orthographic Projection of a Semicircle,” and end with a description of the operation on each page: “Onto an Interrupted Epicycle of….” All titles are descriptions, and all animations are two-dimensional orthographic projections. The work from this research was published in Animating Guarini: An Orthographic Project by Applied Researcha and Design in July of 2020. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Round-Things Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:51:56 +0000 Ericson_Portfolio https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Round-Things <img width="1751" height="1751" width_o="1751" height_o="1751" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8588bbb2ea10bdc40314a5532d947bf27500fa2b3920c02a6c561f8ace451184/04_cone_18_18-.jpg" data-mid="251226497" border="0" data-scale="83" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8588bbb2ea10bdc40314a5532d947bf27500fa2b3920c02a6c561f8ace451184/04_cone_18_18-.jpg" /> <img width="1754" height="1754" width_o="1754" height_o="1754" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8b73a451ca9ba82fbd6d25a6a2fba7096778632a49643a85880c352463315658/05_cone_18_18.jpg" data-mid="251226498" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8b73a451ca9ba82fbd6d25a6a2fba7096778632a49643a85880c352463315658/05_cone_18_18.jpg" /> <img width="1748" height="1748" width_o="1748" height_o="1748" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c0e8c8122f2d31358400535459e2b6aedee92d5e5a435212878d96ed0d0876eb/06_cone_18_18.jpg" data-mid="251226499" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c0e8c8122f2d31358400535459e2b6aedee92d5e5a435212878d96ed0d0876eb/06_cone_18_18.jpg" /> <img width="1755" height="1755" width_o="1755" height_o="1755" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/87a216779c4cab7dd3d210dae91e9e34522f22f5b3837931df71d59e76dbaeb7/07_cone_18_18.jpg" data-mid="251226500" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/87a216779c4cab7dd3d210dae91e9e34522f22f5b3837931df71d59e76dbaeb7/07_cone_18_18.jpg" /> <img width="1536" height="2048" width_o="1536" height_o="2048" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/01994907a599c7f61c96b322e9e93434370a7e1fa4da1c0d44826245128361e3/IMG_7989.JPEG" data-mid="251226477" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/01994907a599c7f61c96b322e9e93434370a7e1fa4da1c0d44826245128361e3/IMG_7989.JPEG" /> Round Things If we construct a material circle, measure its radius and circumference, and see if the ratio of these two lengths is equal to π , what shall we have done? We shall have made an experiment on the properties of the matter with which we constructed this round thing, and of that which the measure used was made. (Henri Poincaré, Science and Hypothesis, 1902) The circle is perhaps one of the most iconic geometric figures in the history of drawing. Its prominent position in Euclid’s Elements ensured its appearance in treatise on drawing and geometry. And yet the circle, like all geometry, cannot be realized in material form.&nbsp; We can describe it as, Henri Poincaré points out, by the ratio of its radius and its circumference. We can also make a rough material approximation, a “round thing”, with a compass, a string, a computer or a numerically controlled cutting device. Regardless of the relative precision or sophistication of a digital or analog device, a true circle cannot be visualized or fabricated. Instead, we are left with “round things” that have the appearance of circles but are in fact not. roundThings() is a custom interactive software that uses the approximation of circular geometry and lighting to generate an endless configuration of round objects. The project consists of a projected real-time interactive software written in javascript and glsl, The light influences the rendering of the surface in both hatching and contouring, but also changes the shape of the round thing.&nbsp; Every round thing within the software is constantly approximating another more precise geometry that can never described in material form. The projected imagery are precise miscalculations of ideal geometries.&nbsp; The images are then translated into instruction for a numerically controlled pen plotter and plotted in blue and black ink. There are no spheres or circles, only round things rendered in the material of which “the measure was made”—pixels. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-With-Cones-in-Two-Dimensions Tue, 02 May 2023 23:39:35 +0000 Ericson_Portfolio https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-With-Cones-in-Two-Dimensions Drawing with Cones in Two Dimensions &nbsp; A circle is a mathematical abstraction, and it cannot be materialized.&nbsp; This is a simple but also disconcerting statement. We have been exposed to drawing circles from the earliest moments of our education.&nbsp; As a term it is embedded in our language used to describe a variety of images, objects, and spaces.&nbsp; It is one of the most ordinary geometries. Nonetheless, we can neither draw nor build a circle.&nbsp; We can describe it as,Henri Poincare points out, by ratio of its radius and its circumference. We can also make a rough material approximation, a “round thing”, with a compass, a string, or a computer and a numerically controlled cutting device.&nbsp; In the construction of these “round things” the circle’s role is that of an instrument. The circle’s abstract geometric properties are used to define this new material thing that although it is round, is not a circle.&nbsp; In this instance the circle is an instrument, used to define new forms through its geometric properties.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-with-Parallel-and-Opposing-Lines Tue, 28 Nov 2023 19:37:15 +0000 Ericson_Portfolio https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-with-Parallel-and-Opposing-Lines Drawing with Parallel and Opposing Lines &nbsp; When drawings are made by hand or printed by machine onto paper, the tools and media used make the permanent marks influence the outcome of the work. This could be in the form of lines that bleed ink, the texture of the paper, or the shape and size of the tip of a pen. This is particularly evident in the hatching and cross-hatching of objects. This repetitive process is used to describe an object’s surfaces, and interaction with light through sets of parallel and opposing lines. At one scale hatches disappear, serving purely to render the content of the drawing.&nbsp; At another scale they operate as a field of lines with imperfections. In a digital environment similar parameters affect the appearance images on a screen.&nbsp; Shaders, small programs written in languages such as glsl, take the geometry created by a particular software and render it to the screen with the computer’s graphic’s card. Standard shaders work to enable a clear reading of a three-dimensional objects surfaces, while also working to hide the pixels used to generate the illusion through resolution and anti-aliasing. The videos and images contained here, document a web based three-dimensional experience rendered entirely in parallel and opposing lines. The project aims to develop an experience that oscillates between two and three dimensions as the lines used to render everything obscure the three-dimensionality of the objects they describe. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-with-Cones-in-Two-and-Three-Dimensions Mon, 19 Aug 2024 14:54:03 +0000 Ericson_Portfolio https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-with-Cones-in-Two-and-Three-Dimensions <img width="3840" height="2185" width_o="3840" height_o="2185" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/52566d15420dfc148040a0f3d18389e2c1ae53457c62ec008731a7df420f48c0/rw_284_ef.png" data-mid="216616016" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/52566d15420dfc148040a0f3d18389e2c1ae53457c62ec008731a7df420f48c0/rw_284_ef.png" /> <img width="3840" height="2185" width_o="3840" height_o="2185" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8dd60dd8abe642b4ea4bf356ef29a47d64dbc3bb5cc42797bd940b72f9d47748/rw_289_ef.png" data-mid="216616017" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8dd60dd8abe642b4ea4bf356ef29a47d64dbc3bb5cc42797bd940b72f9d47748/rw_289_ef.png" /> <img width="3840" height="2185" width_o="3840" height_o="2185" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/983539632e166432a29581a6a965dafebb43ec4d36b6465e7b9a563510b6d3fc/rw_306_ef.png" data-mid="216616063" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/983539632e166432a29581a6a965dafebb43ec4d36b6465e7b9a563510b6d3fc/rw_306_ef.png" /> <img width="3840" height="2185" width_o="3840" height_o="2185" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/309eadd496b9d1d555b84a560589126f5cec2f7f23801f38bd582b016c2a2809/rw_343_ef.png" data-mid="216616072" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/309eadd496b9d1d555b84a560589126f5cec2f7f23801f38bd582b016c2a2809/rw_343_ef.png" /> <img width="3840" height="2185" width_o="3840" height_o="2185" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1e3f8de3581cc4ee8227b6b3422a885d8fcf2b73b7aa44a2c6afab4873307cf1/rw_345_ef.png" data-mid="216616146" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1e3f8de3581cc4ee8227b6b3422a885d8fcf2b73b7aa44a2c6afab4873307cf1/rw_345_ef.png" /> Drawing with Cones in Two and Three Dimensions &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-With-Spheres-in-Two-Dimensions Mon, 17 Oct 2022 19:32:46 +0000 Ericson_Portfolio https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-With-Spheres-in-Two-Dimensions <img width="4000" height="2000" width_o="4000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/29317fdcb6b7f366b7e7852269ac7403594d35a71ff62f7e323e545d245fbe15/2ds.jpg" data-mid="156315044" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/29317fdcb6b7f366b7e7852269ac7403594d35a71ff62f7e323e545d245fbe15/2ds.jpg" /> <img width="4000" height="4000" width_o="4000" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bd1e4b9889734a9cc38eebfd5d71980de6afe95c9709e4fbc94aaea783e857b6/09.jpg" data-mid="156117992" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bd1e4b9889734a9cc38eebfd5d71980de6afe95c9709e4fbc94aaea783e857b6/09.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/80dabd3ae708a00d8d116b3cbf19a9a36ea5343e9da78011384d5e9c833c5787/10.jpg" data-mid="156117993" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/80dabd3ae708a00d8d116b3cbf19a9a36ea5343e9da78011384d5e9c833c5787/10.jpg" /> Drawing with Spheres in Two Dimensions &nbsp; A circle is a mathematical abstraction, and it cannot be materialized.&nbsp; This is a simple but also disconcerting statement. We have been exposed to drawing circles from the earliest moments of our education.&nbsp; As a term it is embedded in our language used to describe a variety of images, objects, and spaces.&nbsp; It is one of the most ordinary geometries. Nonetheless, we can neither draw nor build a circle.&nbsp; We can describe it as,Henri Poincare points out, by ratio of its radius and its circumference. We can also make a rough material approximation, a “round thing”, with a compass, a string, or a computer and a numerically controlled cutting device.&nbsp; In the construction of these “round things” the circle’s role is that of an instrument. The circle’s abstract geometric properties are used to define this new material thing that although it is round, is not a circle.&nbsp; In this instance the circle is an instrument, used to define new forms through its geometric properties.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-With-Spheres-in-Three-Dimensions Thu, 21 Oct 2021 19:46:10 +0000 Ericson_Portfolio https://www.ericsonportfolio.com/Drawing-With-Spheres-in-Three-Dimensions Drawing with Spheres in Three Dimensions &nbsp; A circle is a mathematical abstraction, and it cannot be materialized.&nbsp; This is a simple but also disconcerting statement. We have been exposed to drawing circles from the earliest moments of our education.&nbsp; As a term it is embedded in our language used to describe a variety of images, objects, and spaces.&nbsp; It is one of the most ordinary geometries. Nonetheless, we can neither draw nor build a circle.&nbsp; We can describe it as,Henri Poincare points out, by ratio of its radius and its circumference. We can also make a rough material approximation, a “round thing”, with a compass, a string, or a computer and a numerically controlled cutting device.&nbsp; In the construction of these “round things” the circle’s role is that of an instrument. The circle’s abstract geometric properties are used to define this new material thing that although it is round, is not a circle.&nbsp; In this instance the circle is an instrument, used to define new forms through its geometric properties.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about